Dhoni eyes top spot again in Lanka tri-series

Colombo, Aug 12 (UNI) Mahendra Singh Dhoni will get a chance to wrest the top slot from Australian Adam Gilchrist, while comeback man Sachin Tendulkar will be out to reclaim a place in the top 20 of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen when the Unitech tri-series begins here on Monday.

Dhoni, in fact, has a great chance to reclaim top spot in the ODI batsmen's ladder, a position he held briefly earlier this year.

Dhoni's last ODI outings, against the West Indies, were modest with 95 runs in five matches but despite that he is still just 30 rating points behind leader Adam Gilchrist in fourth spot and a strong showing in Sri Lanka could allow him to overtake the Australian.

Dhoni is one of four Indian batsmen inside the top 20 along with Yuvraj Singh (9th), captain Rahul Dravid (12th) and Virender Sehwag (19th) but one man outside that group who will be especially keen to rejoin it is Sachin Tendulkar.

The little master, who missed the ODI series against England, Pakistan (in Abu Dhabi) and the West Indies following shoulder surgery, has slipped to 25th in the rankings and so he has some ground to make up in the next couple of weeks.

Sri Lanka has only two batsmen inside that top 20 but both of them, Kumar Sangakkara (10th) and Sanath Jayasuriya (13th), are in excellent form, as is the player just outside that grouping, captain Mahela Jayawardene in 21st spot.

Two places further back is former leader Marvan Atapattu, making his comeback after a long-term back injury, and it will be fascinating to see how he adjusts to life back in the top flight after a lengthy absence, if he is included in any starting line-ups.

South Africa is, as in the recent Test series against Sri Lanka, missing a couple of its batting heavyweights in captain Graeme Smith (its top-ranked batsman in seventh position) and Jacques Kallis (26th) but it still has plenty of class to call upon.

Herschelle Gibbs (15th) returned to form in the second Test this week and Boeta Dippenaar (18th) comes into the squad to bolster the top order, while the ever-dangerous Mark Boucher, captain for this series, lies 37th in the batting table.

With the ball, the LG ICC Player Rankings suggest India has an edge over its opponents with three players in the top 20 positions.

Irfan Pathan, who struggled for form in the Caribbean, remains well-placed in the bowling table, in seventh spot -- he is also fifth in the ODI all-rounder list -- while spinner Harbhajan Singh lies ninth and Ajit Agarkar is 12th.

South Africa can boast the leading bowler in the LG ICC Player Rankings in Shaun Pollock and the evergreen performer is also top of the all-rounder list too, a handy double.

MORE UNI XC AY PM PM1420